Take A Chance on Me. It is the title of the second single from Swedish pop group ABBA’s album in 1978. The song is about a woman telling a prospective male partner to take the plunge and get to know her, and if he did, he would find love and never regret it. Starting tonight, the class of 2023 will be singing the same tune as they tell 32 NFL franchises to take a chance on them. Yes, the 2023 NFL Draft will emanate to the world from the city of the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs. In this article, we discuss the three things to watch during the event.
1. How many quarterbacks will come off the board in round 1?
The 2022 NFL draft was underwhelming from a quarterback standpoint because only one quarterback got selected in round 1 when the Pittsburgh Steelers picked Kenny Pickett. In this draft, the experts can’t agree on how many quarterbacks will come off the board in round 1. The projection is that four or even five signal callers will get drafted early when round 1 kicks off. At this point, Alabama quarterback Bryce Young is the favorite to get the first overall pick. The Carolina Panthers put themselves in the position to draft the Heisman winner after they sent a mammoth trade package to the Chicago Bears for the golden prize. Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, Kentucky’s Will Levis, and Florida’s Richardson are projected to be in the top 10, while some boards put them into the top 5. The fifth quarterback poised to crack the first round is Hendon Hooker of the Tennessee Volunteer. Hooker could be a late first-round pick because he was enjoying a breakout season with 27 touchdowns and two interceptions before a devastating ACL tear ended his season. Hooker has been making steady progress from the injury, and a team like the Seattle Seahawks could see him as an asset if Geno Smith takes a step back after a solid season.
2. Are there trades on the horizon?
Most fans tune into the NFL draft knowing to expect the unexpected. The unexpected is that a trade is looming around the corner that will shake up the draft order. Four teams enter the draft owning multiple first-round picks. The teams include: 1. Houston Texans (2nd and 12), the Seattle Seahawks (5 and 20), Detroit Lions (6 and 18), and the Philadelphia Eagles (10 and 30). It would not be a surprise if these teams decided to trade one of their assets to go down the board and collect future picks. In addition to the Panthers and Bears trade, the Jets and Packers swapped the 15th and 13th picks in the blockbuster trade of Aaron Rodgers. Yes, the wielding and dealing is just the beginning of a wild weekend as the front offices wage intellectual warfare to outdo their rivals.
3. Tight Ends and Wide Receiver talent pools pointing in opposite directions
In the modern NFL, there is an increased value in the Tight End position. However, it has proven to be a difficult position to analyze and draft. One NFL draft analyst called the 2023 tight end class one of the deepest and most talented classes in the last ten years. The top two players expected to go in the first round includes Michael Mayer of Notre Dame and Dalton Kincaid of Utah. Some experts even have Darnell Washington of Georgia as a late first-round pick. Also, expect a plethora of picks at the position in the second and third rounds because as many as 11 tight ends could get drafted by the end of that juncture. On the other hand, this is a bad class for wide-receiving talent after 17 players were picked in the past three first rounds between 2020 and 2022. This year the only lock projected first rounder is Jaxon Smith-Njigba of Ohio State. The other standouts include Boston College’s Zay Flowers, USC’s Jordan Addison, and TCU’s Quentin Johnson likely to fall into the second round. It will be interesting to see if teams reach on a pick for a wide receiver or do they stick with picking from the reliable tight end class. Let the chess games begin!